New USU Coach Ryan Odom Wants Aggies To Be ‘Most Efficient Team’ In Mountain West

LOGAN, Utah – New Utah State men’s basketball head coach Ryan Odom said that one of his goals for the Aggies is to be the “most efficient team” in the Mountain West Conference.

Odom was hired as Craig Smith’s successor on April 5. Utah State athletic director John Hartwell introduced Odom for his first press conference in Logan on April 7.

During his opening remarks as USU’s coach, Odom said that he wants the Aggies to lead the Mountain West’s most efficient teams on offense and defense.

“The reality is we want to be the most efficient team in the Mountain West, on both sides of the ball,” Odom said. “If you’re balanced on both sides, you’ve got a chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Because when that that night comes where your offense isn’t going, your defense gets you through. And that’s certainly a trait of our teams.”

A Balanced Team

Coach Odom listed a number of factors that go into being “one of the most balanced teams in the country” and they included:

On offense:

• “We want to score at the rim.”
• “We want to make threes.”
• “We want to get to the free throw line.”

On defense:

• “You want to limit how much you foul.”
• “You don’t want to get torched from three.”
• “You don’t want to let people get layups on you.”

During the question and answer portion of Odom’s presser, the coach was asked about the role that analytics will play with his staff and team.

“Absolutely, we’re going to use it,” Odom said. “A lot of what I do with it is a little bit more on feel than it is, I’m not just going to totally sell out to the numbers, alright. But the numbers tell you a lot of the story and so we’ve got to make sure that we’re mindful of that.”

"I am excited to build upon the foundation that has been laid here."

🗣 @Coachryanodom#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/xdyJE8g9c3

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) April 7, 2021

The new Aggie coach closed his opening remarks by stating how excited he was to take over the Utah State men’s basketball program.

“I’m excited to get going. I’m excited to be here at Utah State. I’m blessed to be here. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to the responsibility and getting in the gym with these guys. Because that’s what it’s all about, having fun in the gym and moving this thing forward.”

"Absolute home run!"

🗣 @SethOnHoops #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/LMwPjAIyrR

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) April 7, 2021

About Ryan Odom

Odom is the son of former college basketball head coach Dave Odom, who coached at East Carolina, Wake Forest, and South Carolina.

Prior to his coaching career, Odom played college basketball at Hampden-Sydney from 1992-96.

After Odom’s playing days, he entered the coaching world.

REAL recognize REAL #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/jZHW4GXAhG

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) April 7, 2021

He served as an assistant coach from 1996-2015, when he was hired as the head coach of Lenoir-Rhyne.

Following his only season with Lenoir-Rhyne, Odom was hired to the same position by University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Odom is well-known for leading the UMBC Retrievers to an upset of No. 1 seed Virginia during the Round of 64 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

"Ryan Odom is the coach whom you want to mentor your son, on and off the floor."

🗣 @JayBilas #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/ymY8ZUQFz5

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) April 6, 2021

Last season, Odom led the Retrievers to a 14-6 overall record.

As a head coach, Odom owns a career record of 126-81.